Hormoz writes about Disability Pride Month.
July was Disability Pride Month. How many of you knew that? When I mentioned it earlier this month, someone bizarrely asked, ‘Is this the latest thing to be proud of?’
And yet, it was first established in 2015 to raise awareness, start positive conversations and celebrate the diversity and differences of the disabled community. Activities include local parades organised by groups all around the UK and events focusing on the aspects mentioned above.
The Disability Pride Flag was created by Ann Magill in 2019. What do the colours represent?
Red - Physical disabilities
Gold - Neurodivergence like autism and ADHD
White - Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
Blue - mental illnesses
Green - Sensory disabilities
Disability Pride month coincided with the Result team feeling proud of our continuing work in the disability area.
The end of July was the culmination of our six-month flagship programme of development across the Civil Service, DELTA, for staff who are disabled, neurodiverse, or live with long-term conditions. The programme has grown from having 26 participants in its first year in 2019 to 74 this year, and 100 next!
We have written about DELTA and its continued powerful impact in blogs on our website several times over the years. Our Social Impact Report 2019-2020 also highlights some of the outcomes.
Significantly, we recently returned to the University of Manchester (UoM), following a short gap after five consecutive years of programme delivery which started in 2014. We have to thank Dr. Hamied Haroon for his advocacy on our behalf for this return.
We met with the Director of EDI, Banji Adewumi (now with Greenwich University), Professor Jackie Carter and Kathy Bradley where we discussed our updated programmes and approach versus 2018 when we last worked with UoM.
We were delighted to be commissioned to run a programme that Professor Carter will evaluate. It will include a session for the line managers of participants to attend. This is a significant first. Managers are often so influential in the quality of work experience of their disabled staff so their inclusion really matters.
We started the programme in June and have continued this month with a second workshop and coaching sessions. The programme is due to end in October.
We are so proud to be able to do this programme, continuing with our commitment to strengthen the groups we work with. As it’s been Disability Pride Month, we are doubly proud!
If you want to hear more about our work, contact us here.